Hat-forming machine



De'c.13,1927. 1,652,441

. K. F. KRANEY HAT FORMING MACHINE Filed March 6, 1926 Patented Dec. 13,1927.

NITED STATES PATENT caries;

KA FRIEDRICH 'KRANEY, or GUBEN, GEBMANY, AssIenoR r0 CARL HEINZEnAscHmnn-rABRIK a. oreUBE r,

GERMANY, a FIRM.

' HAT-FORMING llIACI-IINE' Application meg :ltarch 6, 19.2 sw rm). aaeenain em an camber s, 1925.

This invention relates to a hat forming machine and nore particularly toa machine f u h: kin wh e y h vha te ial is picked or divided up byfirst or preliminary picking or idividingoperation andthere after bynsecond or final picking or dividing operation applied subsequentlytot-he former. The invention has for ,its object to provide a machine ofthis kind, which i for the same Watk ns c pac y smaller dimensions andwhich may be manufactured ata considerablysmallercost. I

t further object Qfthis invention is to avoid certaindrawbacks inherentto the o.p eration of machines -ofthis kind, which are constructed inthe ordinary way. One defeet of the known machines consists in the factthat frequently itsoperation will bedis-v turbed, as ,known to thoseskilled in the art, by improper operation of the travelling belt bymeans of which the hair naterial, which is; divided up by the first orpreliminarydividing device,i is su,pplied to the secondor final dividingdevice.

In the heretofore gknown nachines, by reason of the comparatively largeWidth of the t-rax'elling belt, which must always be kept under acertain tension in order to evenly and uniformly carry forward the hair,it becomes difiicul t to drive this belt strictly in a straight lineover all its width, that is to say in the direction of its centre planeof symmetry. Also, it frequently happens, that the travelling belt willhit or rub against the guiding bars which serve for guiding the belt onboth of its sides, whereby folds will be formed in the travelling belt,as the latter is continuously pressed away in lateral direction. Thesefolds .once made cannot be removed and will finally come in contact withthe grooved intake or dra-wingjin rollers and thus gradually be wornoif,with the result thatthe travelling belt Will be prematurely renderedunfit. for service.

A o in c r l ng be are. employe which are protected against theformation 7 l of folds by providing closely adjacent wood sticks or thelike on the belt, again the -Qb'? jectionable sideward pushingagainstthe lateral guiding bars will take place. In this case also a onesided hitting or rubbing of the travelling belt against the lateralguiding members will have the result, that the retarded side of thebe-ltwill remain inthe rear with respect to the non-retarded side will be ofcomparatively the first also offer clifficulties' in l fo t e finaldividing devices. by having the hair material, which is di-; vided up bythe preliminary dividing device, by means of a stream final dividingdevice.

thereof. igD'uring transit through the ,guidthe fact, that the ends ofthe lyone stick will beentirely separated from he trave l g b t d ieffeh i take olle s of hair will be delayed this the entire machine e ydama d, r i

A further drawback of the heretofore y e entually a e i s l against whsby h supp ay' and i'niadditibn,

known machines isfound in the fact that the said travelling belt, onaccount of its supporting rollers being entirely enclosed and itssurfacebeing fully covered up withrhair in ts preln nnary condltionof'treatment,

- cannot well ,be observedand inspected with regard to its proper modeof operation.

Such inspect-ion of the'fb'elt, moreover, ve 1 Sh w ynll very fac t thep tien f the belt, which is rather dijfficult. V r p Machines havingtravel-lingbelt between and second hair dividing devices gaining accessto the ing it willbe necessary to remove not only e; sunpente fo th uppa r t e be t but also the upper guides and even the entire box orcompartment serving for the preliminary, treatment of the hair.

holes were provided'in the en-' closure thereof, would be rendereddifficult generally arranged in horizontal or only slightly inclinedcondition, renders the proper observation of the belt ri rposes of repaF repair.

It is theprincipal object of this invention to dispense with thetravelling belt between ,thefirst orpreliininary and the second or .Thisis accomplished carried in free motion a of air from the first dividingdevice to the This feature results in important technical and commercialadvantages, as is subsequently more fully explained. V V V In order tomore clearly point out the ad- Vvanta-ges in both structure and mode of"oporation attained by the novel machine made according to the instantinvention, the mode of operation of the heretofore known type of machineen'iploying a traveling belt interniediate the first and final hairdividing devices may be mentioned. In such heretofore known machines thedivided or picked hair fibres will adhere properly to the conical hatform only if the latter is in wet condition and since the air suctionemployed in such machines for drawing the hair material on to the hatform tends to quickly dry the latter, it is evident that the supply ofhair to the form must be begun as soon as the latter is placed inposition to receive the same. The operator will therefore place the hairmaterial intended for the formation of a succeeding hat in position onthe initial feed belt to be carried thereby through the first dividindevice while the preceding hat is being finished upon the wet hat form,and while the hair material for the preceding hat is passing from thefirst dividing device on the intermediate traveling belt to and throughthe final dividing device. It fol lows, therefore, that when thepreceding hat is finished, the supply of hair thereto must be stopped.In the heretofore known niachines the dividing devices operatecontinuously and interruption of the operation ot the belt andintermediate traveling belt is resorted to for the purpose ofinterrul'iting the deliver of hair to the hat form. Dun ing thestandstill of the intermediate travcling belt the preliminary dividedhair material, delivered thereon by the first dividing device forsubsequent supply through the final dividing device to a succeeding hatform, will be whirled about by the air agitation caused by thecontinuously operating first dividing device, with the result that thepreliminary divided hair fibres will tend to partly unite with eachother or be felted to gether so as to frequently settle back upon thetraveling belt in bailed or matted up masses or lumps, so that the workof the first dividing device will be partly nullified. and the tendencyto form flakes or (lags, which fail to be entirely broken up by thefinal dividing device, is increased, with consequent formation ofblemishes in the final hat forming OpCllll'lUlL In the novel machineaccording to the instant invention, the starting and stopping of orintermittent operation of hair conveying means is eliminated. and a modeof operation for hair delivery is provided which is complete in itselffor each hat formerh and which is so carried on in a continuous mannoras to the formation of each hat that op portunity for the formation ofblemish pro ducing flakes or dags is avoided.

B sides the afore-mentioned improvements of the supply of the hair thereis fur-- ther attained by this invention an essential shortening of thelength of the machine as well as a reduction of its weight.

Furthermore therewill be less space required for mounting the machine,whichis important in case a larger number of ma chines is desired to beemployed in a limited space. By this shortening of the length of themachine essential technical and comn'ierrial advantages are obtained.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows an example of a hat blowing machineaccording to this invention in a lateral view partly in section, Figure2 is a top view taken on Fig.1, and

Figure 3 a modification of the machine according to this inventionemploying only one perforated or sieve-like roller.

la the novel machine made according to this invention. the hair materialto be treated is placed in the usual mannerupon the endless travellinginitial feed belt 5, which is arrangial in front of the first orpreliminary teasing or picking roller a, and conveyed by means of theintake rollers a, c to said first roller (B, into fine fiber material.

.iccording to this invention the first picking roller 0 is arranged inthe lower por tion of an air chamber or conduit (Z, which, in preferredarrmigeiuent, extends steeply in upward direction. "Ihrough this conduita stream of air will flow in the direction of the arrow c. said airbeing set in motion by the rapidly rotating picking roller a or by a:-.])t'l'ltll device suited for this purpose. This stream of air. whichenters at the point f into the air conduit (Z, will carry with it thehair material in free and unobstructed motion in upward direction. Theentrance opening f for the stream of air may be nlarged or narrowed inany desired manner. such as for instance by means of a door, slide orthe like, not shown in the drawing. This door or slide is adjusted forproducing the desired intensity of the stream of air, which is requiredfor the hair material under treatment.

The desired quantity of air may also be obtained by means of specialdevices, for in stance by a draft producing cylinder or the likeprovided in therear of the preliminary dividing compartmeuh by employinga spe cial ventilator pressure p1pra by connecting a suction pipe to theexhauster and the sieve-like roller, said exhauster being always presentin machines of this kind or also by any other suitable auxiliary meansfor producing a proper draft of the air.

The air conduit (ll may likewise be posi tioned in oblique or inhorizontal direction without in any way -.lfi'ecting the mode ofoperation.

by which it is divided up Ill) The conduit (Z is provided with theobservation hole or window 5 through which the motion of the hair mayalways be conven- 1 spasms may insp stsdwnd is "further, closed up titsupp. r and .by e r m re rollers .h and servi aato e ch up. he hal Ofthis roller a r hown n .Eig l an a s.est,,-Qn should be c nst us ed's iPs Q- ated rolle ser ing. $0 h d har of he ai Y V ThQSB perforated orsieve-like rollers will ml ylh h ir diufin the ota io t the.

supply rollers 0 oiyvhich convey the hair to .tllsse on or fina riskingolle Y h w in igs .1 ends, ape orat d o sieve-like roller Operates inconnection with s shspe s 3 who tree wi is p r orated a prq idetl W thinwi net g se vi g.

or t e' iss arge' of a r, said W re ne g arthe s r ing i 7 re a ning andol ecting as: du ts-. fibre whi v ev ntu y beencariied a vaybythesieve-like roller h.

,part'oi the air, which passes through hesepduitd sndir icjh a ie withit the hlr'treated bythe first picking roller, may ls be a sed wa e -though t si i roller Thequantityof air partially disdial-rains thr ug thveik may be regulated at will bymeans oi' a movable slide ;Z or thedike, which may be made o cover p isgreatsr qrsma pa this roller.

The-hair material, which is still further i de hv th secon n ckins ronal y .sq r ye in the-u ua ma n r y the l la t-prqd si g cylin er i d byre so of e. su ti ef c .o h e austsiy wh nt-shown in hs draw ng, t thevrotating qnisei shet f m in 'Upon this {hat form the Yl at Willbeformed by means of a spraying device as known;

aid spraying d vice n trbs ns h in the drayving.

In pera on f the o e mach n 9 this inyen tion, the operator,after'placing the hat-form in ,position', deposits hair material on the feedbelt b in satlicient quantity tor the tormationpf the desired hat body.The feed-belt delivers this hair material to the first picking roller"a?. After passing the st e eki s'i' sra the he r ma i l, as prelii e rly lo ssas qup her by is floated'byfthe air current in'the conduit d tothe" v roller h, or rollers it and it}, as the case may ;be,. ,t,o bepassed thereby through the supply rollers and 0 to and through thesecond picking roller a and thence to the hat form in the usual manner.Since there is no w n i lel hs e' n' he r an final dividing devices, butrather the preliminarily ened 1 7 div ded hair m te ia is fl a d incontinuous motion from said first to said final dividing device, thereis neither oppor-. tunity for bunching of the hair due to uneven-travelof a conveying belt, nor opportnnity for the hair to settle in balled ormatted flakes or (lags While passing from one picking device to theother, and consequenty the likel hood-of produ ng b mi e hat b i ireduced o minimum- .At'tsr. enough hair is thus furnished to produce thedesired hat {body ,on the hat .it'orm, theo pei ator discontinnes,thefdeposit of hair material upon the .feed belt 6 until the preed ng 1s isfinisheda h h for 0 1 ich he, atte i for d. i reamed an f p ed byanother hat iform, after which the d?- posit. of hair materiajl for .asucceeding hat hair, furthermore, will be'SIlPPl Bd to the final dividerby an essentially quicker notion, than had heretofore been possible, hlqfe particularly, this motionof thehair ke plac n =1 re ion p f ab y steply nW 'dl o, a bal ing por .fel i g of hair material in the machine isentirely avoided according to this invention,

y re son of thespproxin tely perpen-l dic ular arrangement or theblowing channel 05 th length p th: chin wi l she 9 srab y duce Whichwillot only be .of

advantage rega ing red ction .o g

butal so will practically eliminate the dis tul bi ig influencejexertedby the reciprocats mot ofasss -c e ide the mo n.

inspected.

The time which isrequired ifor conveying he d vide hai fr he 1 9mb ofenta c at .12 as far as to the conical hat form m of th hair may beconveniently observed or isso short that no i-further preliminary work,such as supply ng the hairqas early as during the spraying arid theexchange of the hat ,form, ,vvillbe necessary. By this theregtjeltinggofthe divided hair will be avoided and the attendance of them achine rendered essentially more easy and considerably simplifiedr 1.In a hat forming machine having a receiying chamber provided with a hairintake opening and a hat form Within said chamber, means for dividinghair -material' and delivering'the same, comprising an air conduithaving an air inlet at its lower end, a rotative preliminaryhairdividing means at the lower end of saidair conduit adjacent to said airinlet, means to feed hair material to said preliminary dividing means,

a rotative final hair dividingmeans intermediate the upper end of saidair conduit and said intake opening of said receivmg chamber adapted todeliver hair through the latter for deposit on said hat form, and meansadjacent to said l'inal hair dividing means adapted to both dischargeair from the upper end of said air conduit and receive the hair forpassage through said final dividing means, said preliminary dividingmeans being adapted by its rotation to induce an upward flowing aircurrent through said conduit operative to transfer the hair from saidpreliminary to said final dividing means.

2. 111 a hat forming machine having a receiving chamber provided with ahair in takeopening and a hat form within said chamber, means fordividing hair material and delivering the same, comprising an airconduit having an air inlet at its lower end,

a rotative preliminary hair dividing means at the lower end of said airconduit adjacent to said air inlet, means to feed hair material to saidpreliminary dividing means, a rotative linalhair dividing meansintermediate the upper end of said air conduit and said intake openingof said receiving chamber adapted to deliver hair through the latter fordeposit on said hat form, androtative means arranged across the upperend of said conduit adapted to discharge the air stream therefrom but toretain and deliver the hair to said final dividing means, saidpreliminary dividing means being adapted by its rotation to induce anupward flowing air current through said conduit operative to transferthe hair from said preliminary to said final dividing means. I

3. A machine as defined in claim 2, having means cooperative with saidlotative perforate means to vary the air discharge capacity thereof.

4. In a hat forming machine having a receiving chamber provided with ahair intake opening and a hat form within said chamber, means fordividing hair material and delivering the same, comprising an airconduit having an air inlet at its lower end, a rotative preliminaryhair dividing means at the lower end of said air conduit adjacent tosaid air inlet, means to feed hair material to said preliminary dividingmeans, a rotative final hair dividing means intermediate the upper endof said air conduit and said intake opening of said receiving chamberadapted to deliver hair through the latter for deposit on said hat form,a pair of hollow perforate rolls arranged across the upper end of saidair conduit adjacent said linal dividing means adapted to discharge theair stream therefrom but to retain and deliver the hair to said finaldividing means, and a catch chamber having one end in communication witha portion of the perforate surface of one of saidrolls, said preliminarydividing means being adapted by its rotation to induce an upward flowingair currentthrough said condult operative to transfer rotative linalhair dividing means intermediate the upper end of saidair conduit andsaid intake opening of said receiving chamber adapted to deliver hairthrough the 1attor for deposit on said hat form, a pair of hollowperforate rolls arranged across the upper end of said air conduitadjacent said linal dividing means adapted to discharge the air streamtherefrom but to retain and deliver the hair to said final dividingmeans,

a catch chamber-having one end in com munication with a portion of theperforate surface of one of said. rolls, said Preliminary dividing meansbeing adapted by its rotatlon to induce an upward flowingalr currentthrough said conduit operative to transfer hair from sa1d prehminary tosaid final dividing means, and means to cooperate with the remainingperforate roll to vary the air discharge capacity thereof.

6. A method of operating hat forming machines which consists in dividingthe hair in a preliminary dividing device, inducing a stream of airadjacent to said preliminary dividing device and directing the same toward a final dividing device, discharging said stream of air adjacent tosaid final dividing device while at the same timeseparating the hairtherefrom for passage through the latter device, and then de1iver ingthe finally divided hair upon a hat form.

In testimony whereof I haveailixed my signature.

KARL FRIEDRICH KRANEY.

